Time marches inexorably on, devouring our precious remaining minutes, hours and days like Cronus did his children, and miring us in so many end-of-year retrospectives and best-of listicles that we can’t help but embrace the new year if only for the novelty of it. So it’s for your own good, really, that for the third time in a row I will close out the year with a look back at The History Blog’s 2013.

First a little glimpse into the statistical man behind the curtain. This year we had 1,570,000 total pageviews, slightly short of last year’s high of 1,650,546. That’s actually way better than I expected, because earlier this year I experienced for the first time the frigid wrath of a Google denied. You might recall that towards the end of January the blog moved to a new server. This was made necessary by my unquenchable thirst for large pictures taking up so much space that I finally had to ditch the old one and move to a plan that gave me room to grow.

Or so I thought. In fact, it was a complete disaster, way too small to handle my bandwidth and even the overall hard drive space was larger, it was still pretty damn stingy in terms of file size maximums. As soon as the blog moved, it was taken down by an exceeded bandwidth error and remained down for what felt like an eternity but was actually something like eight hours.

As far as Google’s algorithms are concerned, those eight hours might as well have been an eternity. The high ranking I had built up over six years of daily blogging plummeted resulting in a dramatic drop in traffic. I watched, horrified, as my views per day plunged to levels not seen since the end of 2011, beginning of 2012, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. A second bandwidth exceeded takedown struck at the end of March and that was the end of my dealings with that server company. I moved to a new service (hi Westhost! Love you guys!) in mid-April with unlimited everything and it’s been smooth sailing ever since.

Alas, the search engines weren’t done punishing me. They still aren’t done, in fact. The numbers only started to crawl back up in September, believe it or not, and even now we’re tens of thousands of views away from the intoxicating highs of January. I am very much looking forward to the new year so I can draw a firm albeit arbitrary line after the Bad Days and usher in Better Days, daring even to hope they might be Best Days.

The busiest new entry this year was the one about the Seikilos epitaph, the oldest ancient song to survive complete with lyrics and musical notation, sung by Newcastle University Classics professor Dr. David Creese. It got 7,811 views on November 3rd, most of them courtesy of a link from io9. Overall this year the Seikilos epitaph got 13,254 pageviews. That wasn’t the most viewed entry of the year, however. That honor goes to last year’s Hatfields & McCoys entry, which continues to draw crazy traffic with 22,719 views in 2013.

My favorite incoming link of the year wasn’t about bringing in the view numbers, though, which were tiny. It was from a Greek foot fetish forum in which the virtues of Napoleon’s sister’s tiny feet and shoes were extolled. I loved it because it’s the perfect niche audience to appreciate details like the memoirs describing Pauline Bonaparte’s terribly risquée pedicures.

I found the rare sound recordings of Florence Nightingale, Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Martin Leonard Lanfried, trumpeter of the 17th Lancers, hauntingly beautiful. I loved hearing Florence Nightingale express hope in the recording itself that her voice might keep her cause alive long after her death. Audio recording technology was so new then, but her instincts were right on the money. We also got to enjoy the distinct privilege of Alexander Graham Bell ordering us to hear his voice. The first and only known recording of Alexander Graham Bell, it allows this great inventor of live voice transmission technology to finally transmit his own voice to us.

The 3D printed skull of Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici wearing her Electress Palatine crown isn’t gruesome at all, at least to my eyes, but it is a fascinating glimpse of where the technology could take archaeology going forward. So many things that should not be touched due to condition issues will be able to be examined again thanks to the combination of laser scanning and 3D printing. It’s Anna Maria’s herculean efforts in saving the patrimony of her famous family, the greatest patrons of the some of the greatest art ever made, that should grant her an august place in history. She’s nowhere near as well known as she should be, since she single-handedly ensured that the art that makes Florence a top tourist destination today remain in the city rather than get plundered and scattered around the courts of Europe after her death in 1743.

Anna Maria’s story was probably my favorite biographical post of the year. Although, if the entry about Michelangelo’s time in hiding under the New Sacristy of San Lorenzo and the astonishing charcoal sketches he drew on the walls to keep himself sane counts as biography, that one’s a favorite of mine too. Teddy Roosevelt’s early years were great fun to delve into as well, because even though he felt he looked like a “dissolute democrat of the fourth ward,” he sure didn’t act like one.

Which reminds me, I must take a moment to give all proper praise to the best political button in history. May all your wet dreams be of Al Smith. Oh, and quick update: the button ended up selling for $8,962.50 including the buyer’s premium. It’s a steal, if you ask me.

The original Batmobile from the 1960s television series was a steal at any price, even $4.62 million, because of its unparalleled awesomeness. Even before it was the greatest of all Batmobiles it was already epic as a Lincoln Futura concept car. I loved researching that because it reminded me of Homer Simpson’s dream car that bankrupted his long-lost half-brother Herb. (Most things remind me of The Simpsons in some way.)

That Batmobile went to a private collector as did the Maltese Falcon (sold for $4,085,000 including buyer’s premium). The debonair 1950s robot Cygan sold to a private collector, but he has contacted me and he is restoring it most judiciously so huzzah! I love the Cygan entry even more now, incidentally, because I had to research the Windmill Girls to write it which means I was able to get the reference to them on the Christmas special of Call the Midwife that just aired on my local PBS station. (Nurse Lee reassured an overdue patient that the midwives are like the Windmill Girls: open all day. Naughty!)

Also returned this year were the lost artifacts of two World War II veterans. The ring pilot David C. Cox had to trade to survive his imprisonment Stalag VII-A was returned to his grateful son by Martin Kiss of Hohenberg, Bavaria, who asked for no remuneration at all, not even shipping costs. The greatest tear-jerker of the year was the story of Peggy Eddington-Smith, who finally received the letter the father she never met wrote to her before his death in Italy. I defy anyone of human parts to read that story without crying.

And now off with ye all. Celebrate tonight with much revelry and come back tomorrow to read through squinted eyes and pounding head. Thank you for choosing The History Blog for your history blog reading needs in 2013. I hope to continue to make it worth your while in 2014. Happy New Year!

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The scope, quality, variety and consistency of your work are truly astounding. It is a pleasure to get up every morning and read yet another post about another aspect of history that is often totally new to me. The discipline and depth of research that goes into each piece is further supported by your engaging and accessible writing style. Your use of still and streaming media adds even more appeal. Thank you once again for all you do to enhance the lives of devoted readers.

Oh my,
I have never heard of the golden chest of Cardinal Mazarin, lost or found. I must have been asleep when that post appeared because if Mazarin’s name catches my eye, I would normally read everthing. And because it is a chest, I am already fascinated.

Righto..it is 1st of january already so I am going to print off your post and take it to the beach with a picnic lunch. Have a very productive 2014!

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for your blog – I come to read it every day I enjoyed reading your year in review and remembering all of the cool things (and of course I had to re-read some of my favorite posts)

Though not from this year, probably my favorite post ever was the ancient judean date palm seed that they actually got to grow. Every so often, I google it to see how its doing (it’s gotten pretty big, by the way)

I just wanted to let you know that though I don’t come here more than once every few days, I read all your articles and have your site pinned on my bookmarks. I love your site. thanks so much for all your posts. they’re great!

I too am an avid reader of your blog. Your posts are always interesting and really, very worth while reading. I always try to leave a comment. I even come back twice sometimes to read one of your posts so that proves how much I appreciate your hard work.
Best wishes for the New Year 2014.

Thank you, thank you, for each post. I have the site bookmarked and read the posts every day. I am fascinated by the scope and variety of each featured item presented from every era and period. Reading these posts is one of the highlights of my day. Thank you for your hard work and devotion, and for presenting many more details that humanize the artifacts, that make me feel connected to the past. Wonderful! Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you too, Livius Drusus ( or should it be Livie Druse?). I enjoy this blog very much and have also spent a considerable time in its archives. This is a lot like those big books of facts I used to love when I was a kid. And I love lots of pictures.

IMO, the very best historical/archeological event 2013 was the identification “beyond reasonable doubt” of Richard III’s skeletal remains. Missed seeing it on your year-end review — as I recall your excitement when it “was him!”

Every day there is a new entry in your blog, and every day I expand my knowledge. Thanks so much!!

Such a glaring oversight on my part, you’re totally right. It was in my head the whole time when I was writing, but I somehow lost track of it by the end. I was going to close with a bow to Richard and with the flashmob of The Night Watch since I’ve watched that video at least once a week since I posted it.

I just discovered your blog through someone’s post on Twitter. I must say that I am fascinated and I am now a faithful reader. I love history and you have provided us with pieces of history that many of us would have never known. I will be sharing your blog with many of my friends. Thankyou